Yahoo CEO Fires Company’s Number Two

Ethan Miller/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- $100 million for failure? That may be the total payout to Henrique de Castro, the number two executive at Yahoo, who was brought in just 14 months ago to boost growth and digital advertising revenue.

De Castro, the Chief Operating Officer, who was lured away from Google with a $62 million deal, has been fired by CEO Marissa Mayer. According to The Wall Street Journal, De Castro will depart Yahoo with "a severance package that could be worth more than an estimated $42 million."

The turnaround effort at Yahoo has been disappointing since Mayer took over in the summer of 2012.Some Wall Street analysts turned negative on the Internet firm, saying sales dropped slightly last year.

Mayer, who took the helm in July 2012, has attempted to revamp Yahoo with new exclusive content on its websites, redesigned email and other innovations.

DeCastro was criticized for failing to convince advertisers to spend more money with Yahoo.